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Re: View Camera

If the question is whether print should be discontinued, for me it's a resounding NO. I've been a View Camera subscriber for about 13 years and have no plans to stop subscribing. If it went on-line only I wouldn't subscribe. As for discontinuing news stand distribution, I don't know enough about the benefits vs the costs to have an informed opinion.

Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

Re: View Camera

I have tried a couple PDF "magazines"...I would much rather have a physical, paper copy. Further, VIEW CAMERA has become almost impossible to find around here, so I guess it's finally time to subscribe.

Re: View Camera

well, "View Camera" isn't exactly full of fast-breaking news (thank god). So whether it arrives on Tuesday or Thursday doesn't matter much to me. The only reason to consider 1st-class mail would be to improve reliability, and that's not been an issue for the last 19 years. And I have yet to see an on-line 'magazine' that cuts the mustard. I spend too much time in front of a monitor as it is... I like real magazines for many of the same reasons that I like real photographs.

Re: View Camera

Steve: I strongly considered getting a subscription, but it would actually cost me slightly more (here in Canada) than getting it at the newsstand. It's only 75 cents more per issue, but one generally expects a subscription to cost less, not more, than the stand price. Besides, I love scouring the racks, waiting for the new issue to finally arrive <g>. Plus, I get to pick out one that's in pristine condition.

Re: View Camera

I like [I]View Camera[I]. I also like Photo Techniques and Shutterbug and Popular Photography. Each supplies its own brand of information and know-how. I don't have a particular style to my photography. At least, I cannot identify one so each publication gives me ideas to piece and join and maybe develop my style. I don't want to see any of these become unavailable.

The photographs in View Camera are wonderful and can inspire the most casual photog to more serious output. I do wish that more how-did-I-do-this articles be offered as well as more information on older equipment. Not all of us are as lucky as Jim G and his never-ending source of antique lenses and stuff. I have engaged in photography for more than 50 years but am only a pre-teen in LF. Every bit of technique that someone else has developed can add to my knowledge base and improve my photography.

With respect to subscriptions, I have encountered no problems with the current method of delivery. Any day a favored magazine arrives is a timely delivery. Of course, I live in a larger city. Perhaps small-town postal service might not be as good. I do not want to see a first-class only delivery because I don't need it. But if that is the only solution, I'll just buy one gallon of gas less every two months. I often forget to read on-line magazines, often leaving that to some future date which never arrives.

Re: View Camera

I would vote for the current system. Sometimes it's nice to haul a number of pdf's along on the laptop when travelling, but I much prefer the issue in my hands. Now that we have a distributor in Canada, we are getting every issue. Our newstand is notorious for only bringing in maybe one or two issues a year, and then the next year all six, then again the following year none. Two thumbs up for your distributor in Canada!!

Re: View Camera

Here we go again. First Lenswork and now View Camera. I buy directly from the news stand aka local bookstore. I want to see what I'm paying for before I put down the dollars. That way I have control of what I'm spending my money on and getting the information that I wish to have.
If View Camera does go the route of pdf files. It will be no big loss to me as I buy maybe 4 issues or less a year. What I do hope is that Steve will do as Brooks Jensen did and have a email flyer of what the next issue will be and that I or others like me can decide if that single issue is worth buying.
I wish Steve and View Camera well and I hope to continue buying issues when I want in the future.

Re: View Camera

We always announce our issues here and on our web site.

If you buy 4 issues a year at 6.95 plus tax if there is any you are paying more than you would for a subscription that would get you six issues a year. You are also giving minimal support to the bookstore, a lot of support to the distributor and almost nothing to View Camera. You lose, we lose and the distributor wins. It just depends on whom you want to support.

Re: View Camera

Steve -

I really enjoy the print version and I'd rather get it that way than on-line. I don't really care about 1st class.

BUT... What would be really valuable to me is if you had all of the back issues on-line in some sort of searchable database that people could subscribe to, or pay extra for. That way I wouldn't have to keep stacks of magazines around and it might be a great way to get new revenue from old content.